As Passed by the Senate 1
123rd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Sub. H. B. No. 204 5
1999-2000 6
REPRESENTATIVES SCHULER-WINKLER-TAYLOR-VAN VYVEN-EVANS-VESPER- 7
OLMAN-JAMES-TERWILLEGER-CLANCY-ROMAN-CAREY-VERICH-SULZER- 9
SENATORS SCHAFRATH-SPADA-GARDNER
_________________________________________________________________ 11
A B I L L
To amend sections 505.371 and 505.391 of the Revised 13
Code and to amend Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 14
215 of the 122nd General Assembly to permit the
political subdivisions that comprise a joint fire 15
district to pay the district's charges for 16
ambulance or emergency medical services provided
to their respective residents under certain 17
circumstances, to permit two or more municipal
corporations to form a joint fire district, to 18
permit a fee to be charged for false fire alarms 19
from residential buildings in townships or fire
districts, and to extend to December 15, 2002, 20
the general moratorium on the issuance of new 21
licenses to manufacturers or wholesalers of
fireworks and on approvals of the transfer of 22
their licenses to other locations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 24
Section 1. That sections 505.371 and 505.391 of the 26
Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 28
Sec. 505.371. (A) The boards of township trustees of one 37
or more townships and the legislative authorities of any one or 38
more municipal corporations, OR THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITIES OF 39
TWO OR MORE MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS, or the boards of township 41
trustees of two or more townships, may, by adoption of a joint 42
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resolution by a majority of the members of each board of township 43
trustees and by a majority of the members of the legislative 44
authority of each municipal corporation, create a joint fire 45
district comprising the municipal corporations and all or any 46
portions of the townships as are mutually agreed upon. A joint 47
fire district so created shall be given a name different from the 48
name of any participating township or municipal corporation. 49
(B) The governing body of the joint fire district shall be 51
a board of fire district trustees, which shall include one 52
representative from each board of township trustees and one 53
representative from the legislative authority of each municipal 54
corporation in the district. The board of fire district trustees 55
may exercise the same powers as are granted to a board of 56
township trustees in sections 505.37 to 505.45 of the Revised 57
Code, including, but not limited to, the power to levy a tax upon 58
all taxable property in the fire district as provided in section 59
505.39 of the Revised Code. The board of fire district trustees 60
may be compensated at a rate not to exceed thirty dollars per 61
meeting, not to exceed fifteen meetings per year, and may be 62
reimbursed for all necessary expenses incurred. The board shall 63
employ a clerk of the board of fire district trustees. 64
(C)(1) The board of fire district trustees may establish 66
reasonable charges for the use of ambulance or emergency medical 68
services. The board may establish different charges for 69
residents and nonresidents of the district, and may WAIVE, at its 71
discretion, waive all or part of the charge for any resident of
the district. The charge for nonresidents shall be an amount not 72
less than the authorized medicare reimbursement rate, except that 73
if, prior to the effective date of this amendment FEBRUARY 4, 75
1998, the board had different charges for residents and 76
nonresidents and the charge for nonresidents was less than the 77
authorized medicare reimbursement rate, the board may charge 78
nonresidents less than the authorized medicare reimbursement 79
rate. Charges
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(2) IN THE RESOLUTION CREATING THE JOINT FIRE DISTRICT, 81
THE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS THAT CREATE THE DISTRICT MAY PROVIDE 82
THAT ANY OF THOSE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS MAY AGREE TO PAY ANY 83
CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 84
THAT THE BOARD OF FIRE DISTRICT TRUSTEES ESTABLISHES UNDER 85
DIVISION (C)(1) OF THIS SECTION AND THAT ARE INCURRED BY THE 86
RESIDENTS OF THE PARTICULAR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. UNLESS THE
BOARD ELECTS PURSUANT TO THAT DIVISION TO WAIVE ALL OR PART OF 87
THE CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL 88
SERVICES THAT ANY RESIDENT OF THE DISTRICT INCURS, THE RESIDENTS 89
OF A PARTICULAR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THAT HAS NOT SO AGREED TO 90
PAY THE CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL
SERVICES INCURRED BY ITS RESIDENTS SHALL PAY THOSE CHARGES. 91
(3) CHARGES collected under DIVISION (C) OF this paragraph 94
SECTION shall be kept in a separate fund designated as "the 95
ambulance and emergency medical services fund," and shall be 97
appropriated and administered by the board. These funds THE FUND 100
shall be used for the payment of the costs of the management, 101
maintenance, and operation of ambulance and emergency medical 102
services in the district. As 103
(4) AS used in DIVISION (C) OF this paragraph SECTION, 106
"authorized medicare reimbursement rate" has the same meaning as 107
in section 505.84 of the Revised Code. 108
(D) Any municipal corporation or township, or parts of 110
them, may join an existing joint fire district by the adoption of 112
a resolution requesting such membership and upon approval of the 113
board of fire district trustees. Any municipal corporation or 114
township may withdraw from a joint fire district created under 115
this section, by the adoption of a resolution ordering 116
withdrawal. On or after the first day of January of the year 117
following the adoption of the resolution of withdrawal, the 118
municipal corporation or township withdrawing ceases to be a part 119
of such district, and the power of the joint fire district to 120
levy a tax upon taxable property in the withdrawing township or 122
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municipal corporation terminates, except that the joint fire 123
district shall continue to levy and collect taxes for the payment 124
of indebtedness within the territory of the joint fire district 125
as it was comprised at the time the indebtedness was incurred. 126
Upon the withdrawal of any township or municipal 128
corporation from a joint fire district created under this 129
section, the county auditor shall ascertain, apportion, and order 130
a division of the funds on hand, including funds in the ambulance 131
and emergency medical services fund, moneys and taxes in the 132
process of collection, except for taxes levied for the payment of 133
indebtedness, credits, and real and personal property, either in 134
money or in kind, on the basis of the valuation of the respective 135
tax duplicates of the withdrawing municipal corporation or 136
township and the remaining territory of the joint fire district. 137
When the number of townships and municipal corporations 139
comprising a joint fire district is reduced to one, the joint 140
fire district ceases to exist by operation of law, and the funds, 141
credits, and property remaining after apportionments to 142
withdrawing municipal corporations or townships, shall be assumed 143
by the one remaining township or municipal corporation. When a 144
joint fire district ceases to exist and an indebtedness remains 145
unpaid, the board of county commissioners shall continue to levy 146
and collect taxes for the payment of such indebtedness within the 147
territory of the joint fire district as it was comprised at the 148
time the indebtedness was incurred. 149
Sec. 505.391. If, after the fire department of a township, 158
township fire district, or joint fire district, or a private fire 159
company with which the fire department of a township, township 160
fire district, or joint fire district contracts for fire 161
protection, responds to a false alarm from an automatic fire 162
alarm system at a commercial establishment OR RESIDENTIAL 163
BUILDING, the board of township trustees gives written notice by 165
certified mail to the owner and the lessee, if any, of the 166
building in which the system is installed that the board IT may 167
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assess a charge of up to three hundred dollars for each 169
subsequent false alarm within a period of thirty days after any 170
false alarm by that system, the board of township trustees may 171
assess such a THAT charge. THIS NOTICE SHALL BE MAILED TO THE 172
OWNER AND THE LESSEE, IF ANY, OF THE BUILDING IN WHICH THE SYSTEM 173
IS INSTALLED. After the board gives written THIS notice by 174
certified mail once to an owner and lessee, if any, the board 176
need not give any additional written notices before assessing a 177
charge for a false alarm as provided by this section. If not 178
paid within sixty days after the owner OR LESSEE receives A 179
written notice by certified mail that a charge has been assessed, 181
such charges THE CHARGE shall be entered upon the real property 182
tax list and tax duplicate and, shall be a lien upon the property 184
served, and shall be collected as other taxes. Charges collected 185
under this section shall be returned to the township general 186
fund. 187
As used in this section, "commercial establishment" means a 189
building or buildings in an area used primarily for 190
nonresidential, commercial purposes. 191
Section 2. That existing sections 505.371 and 505.391 of 193
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 195
Section 3. For those joint fire districts created prior to 197
and in existence on the effective date of this act, the joint 198
resolution creating the district may be amended to permit, on and 199
after the amendment's effective date, any of the political 200
subdivisions involved to agree to pay any charges for the use of
ambulance or emergency medical services incurred by the residents 201
of the particular political subdivision in accordance with 202
section 505.371 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act. 203
Section 4. That Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 215 of the 205
122nd General Assembly be amended to read as follows: 206
"Sec. 165. During the period beginning on the effective 208
date of this section AMENDMENT and ending on December 15, 1999 209
2002, the State Fire Marshal shall not do either ANY of the 211
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following:
(A) Issue a license as a manufacturer of fireworks under 213
sections 3743.02 and 3743.03 of the Revised Code to a person for 214
a particular fireworks plant unless that person possessed such a 215
license for that fireworks plant immediately prior to the 216
effective date of this section JUNE 30, 1997; 217
(B) Issue a license as a wholesaler of fireworks under 219
sections 3743.15 and 3743.16 of the Revised Code to a person for 220
a particular location unless that person possessed such a license 221
for that location immediately prior to the effective date of this 222
section JUNE 30, 1997;
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this 224
section, approve the transfer of a license as a manufacturer or 225
wholesaler of fireworks under Chapter 3743. of the Revised Code 226
to any location other than a location for which a license was 227
issued under that chapter immediately prior to the effective date 228
of this section JUNE 30, 1997. 229
(2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply to a 231
transfer that the Fire Marshal approves pursuant to division 232
(D)(2) of section 3743.17 of the Revised Code." 233
Section 5. That existing Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 215 235
of the 122nd General Assembly is hereby repealed. 236